Round-up: User buys Rainey Street office building

Here is a round-up listing of recent deals and announcements in the Austin real estate market since last Wednesday:

Lake View Plaza, a 14,349-square-foot office building at 44 East Avenue in the Rainey Street district of downtown Austin has been sold for an undisclosed price to a user. Patrick Ley with Equitable Commercial Realty represented the seller, and Rob Wendt with CIRA represented the buyer.

Heitman, a Chicago-based pension fund adviser, acquired the 608-unit Preserve at Travis Creek. The garden-style apartment complex was built in 1998 and is located in Southwest Austin. Occupancy was 96 percent at the time of sale. The seller, represented by Patton Jones of ARA in Austin, was Invesco Real Estate based in Dallas.

Jofrett and Jasmine Blackman purchased 0.3 acres including a 2,680-square-foot building at 439 W. Ben White Blvd. Jim Krebs of Texas International Real Estate represented the buyer. Gay Ruggiano of The Kucera Cos. represented the seller, William Day.

Harte Hanks Response Management of Austin leased 10,175 square feet at Arboretum Plaza I, 9442 Capital of Texas Highway. Landlord Ohio Teachers’ Retirement was represented by Troy Holm and Katie Ekstrom of CBRE Group Inc., and the tenant was represented by David Abell of UGL Services.

Mattress Firm leased 4,326 square feet at Pfluger Station at the northwest corner of Texas FM 685 and Pflugerville Parkway in Pflugerville. Cole Brodhead and David Simmonds of Retail Solutions represented the landlord, and Brian Lent of Highline Real Estate Group represented the tenant.

The Soccer Post, a family-run sporting goods store specializing in soccer equipment and uniforms, renewed its lease for 3,216 square feet in Crossroads Shopping Center, 9070 Research Boulevard. Adam Zimel and Graham Carter with the Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group represented the landlord. At Crossroads Shopping Center, The Soccer Post is part of a line-up which includes Chili’s, Trudy’s, West Marine, Pluckers, Cycle Gear, Subway, Fast Signs, Avis and more. Cencor Realty Services manages Crossroads Shopping Center.

Appleton Learning leased 1,505 square feet in Davenport Village, a specialty retail and office project located at Westlake Drive and Capital of Texas Highway, for its second Austin-area location. Adam Zimel and Michele Gary with the Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group represented the landlord, and Buck Cody with Endeavor Real Estate Group represented the tenant. Appleton Learning, which has announced plans for 23 branches in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth over the next five years, opened its first Austin-area location in Bee Cave this month.

The Austin Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group was named retail leasing agent for Centennial Shopping Center, a 54,000-square-foot specialty retail center at 7301 Burnet Road. Graham Carter and Matt Epple with Weitzman are handling leasing. Centennial Shopping Center features a retail tenant mix that includes a 23,493-square-foot Tuesday Morning store, as well as a 15,380-square-foot Showplace of Design store. Other concepts in the shopping center include Objets, Toulouse Fine Art, Hill-Bert’s Burgers, Black Sheep Unique, Susanne Lee Interiors and several others.